WordPress Backup Introduction
Let’s face it, WordPress is one of the most famous content management systems (CMS) on the planet. Dare we say one of the most powerful. However, the power house CMS doesn’t have a standard way to backup the system and the website. Shocking we know. The real question is, why do you need to backup the system and the website? Simple, there are numerous viruses, hackers, and other vulnerabilities that threaten the website. The ability to restore a website from a backed up copy provides peace of mind. Knowing a backup on the website is performed on a regular basis allows the business owner a good nights rest. The good news is there are numerous plugins that can help with backing up the website and the option to restore the site should the website experience any issues.
UpdraftPlus is one of the most popular backup and restorations plugins used on the WordPress.org repository. The plugin has 500,000+ active installations, meaning more than 500,000+ WordPress sites have the plugin installed. The plugin comes in two different versions, free and premium. The free version allows webmasters to backup the website and WordPress itself while storing the site on a remote storage. A remote server can consist of Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, to name few options. You can place the backup on a schedule to automate the process and have the ability to restore a website in case an issue were to arise. The plugin boasts the ability to quickly restore a website from the plugin and for added security layer can encrypt the data if need be. There are numerous other features that come equipped with the free version and the premium version comes with even more. Give UpdraftPlus Backup and Restoration a chance by downloading the plugin on the WordPress plugin repository.
VaultPress is an awesome plugin. The component is a premium plugin that comes with a one push solution, literally. VaultPress performs all of the work for you. Think of it as a set and forget. VaultPress performs numerous background backups, while the website chugs along. VaultPress is an example of a paid plugin that delivers when the time arises. The plugin begins at $5 / month for the most basic plan. A lot of small business websites can get away with the cheaper plan for a cost savings benefit. In addition to performing backups of the website, VaultPress offer security scans. The security scans ensure no malicious software is on the website during backups and notifies the webmaster if there are any issues. VaultPress is a premium at an affordable price point.
BackupBuddy is another premium plugin. The plugin is highly respected in the WordPress community and many webmasters have either used the plugin for themselves or have implemented the plugin for customers. The features BackupBuddy provides are inline with most of the other high end solutions, but what separates this plugin is the ability migrate a WordPress website. The plugin provides the ability for webmasters to make a copy of the website, deploy the copy on what developers call a sandbox, which is a copy of the customer’s website, onto another host. Same can be said for non-developers. Customers can clone a website and move the website to another host with a click of a button. BackupBuddy is a strong, premium backup plugin that we highly recommend for all WordPress websites.
BackWPUp is a free backup solution numerous WordPress sites implement. The plugin’s free and premium version has been downloaded more than 2,000,000 times as of this writing. The free solution comes equipped with standard features including, database backup, Backup with various storage options (Dropbox, Amazon, Google Drive etc.), and checks and repairs the website’s Database. The free solution is adequate for smaller websites, while the premium can be purchased for more features. The premium version of the plugin comes equipped with all of the free features and premium support for the plugin. The premium version starts at $75 per year. The price is fairly competitive considering the other plugins on the list.
The name in the plugin says it all, WordPress is backed up to Dropbox. The simplistic plugin is a breeze to install and connect to a Dropbox account. All of the data the plugin backups is stored on Dropbox. Depending on the size of the Dropbox account, you will have to manage the backups that are uploaded. For example, backups take up a lot of space rather quickly. If the Dropbox account is using the free version, which only comes with 2GB, space will become limited quickly. The plugin is suitable for smaller websites and works nicely with a service most customers are comfortable with.